RCMA 2010 in Fort Worth, Texas, will be RCMA's second visit to this vibrant Southwest city, which hosted the conference in 1986.

There's a lot to like about Fort Worth for religious meetings: affordably priced meeting facilities and accommodations, exciting entertainment options, and a convenient location with ample airlift capacity.

Meeting Space and Accommodations

Beginning with meeting space, the Fort Worth Convention Center provides more than 253,000 square feet of space: 41 breakout rooms and a total of 58,849 square feet of meeting-room space; a 28,000-square-foot ballroom; and a 13,500-seat arena. In addition, the center has a public events plaza for outdoor gatherings. The plaza links the Fort Worth Water Gardens to the center's new grand entrance.

Other facilities in the city include the Will Rogers Memorial Center, which has 100,000 square feet of space, a 6,000-seat coliseum, a 3,000-seat arena, and an equestrian center with a 2,000-seat arena; and the Cowtown Coliseum, a 2,300-seat arena in the Stockyards National Historic District.

There are 135 hotels/motels in Fort Worth, offering a total of more than 12,000 guest rooms (more than 2,000 of which are in the downtown are). The Omni Fort Worth, which is adjacent to the convention center, opened in January 2009; this $115 million, 38-story hotel has 614 rooms and offers 48,000 square feet of meeting space, all with first-class amenities.

Entertainment Districts

Fort Worth is home to three main entertainment districts, all within 3 miles of each other:

• Sundance Square, a national model of urban revitalization, is considered one of the premier downtown settings in the country. It boasts 35 square blocks of shopping, more than a dozen restaurants, live theater, a movie theater, art galleries, and more.

• Stockyards National Historic District is filled with sites from the Old West, Texas-themed shopping and cuisine, rodeos, the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, and the Fort Worth Herd daily cattle drive. You'll see legendary structures such as the Livestock Exchange Building, as well as the Stockyards Station shops and restaurants in the old sheep and hog barns. Numerous Western shops, including Maverick, Fincher's and Leddy's, are located along historic Exchange Avenue.

• Fort Worth Cultural District is home to five museums in a relaxing, park-like setting.

  Throughout the city, visitors find museums devoted to Western heritage and Fort Worth's past.

History and Population

The city was founded in 1849 by U.S. Army Gen. William Jenkins Worth, who proposed building 10 forts to mark the beginning of the west Texas frontier.

Fort Worth is the county seat of Tarrant County. More than 700,000 people live in Fort Worth, with a total of 1.6 million in Tarrant County. The Fort Worth/Dallas metro area has a population of more than 6 million.

Transportation

Fort Worth is served by Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, which is 17 miles from Fort Worth. DFW is one of the busiest airports in the world, with an average of 1,947 daily departures to more than 150 cities. Taxis and shuttles provide transit to Fort Worth.

Visitors Galore

An estimated 5.4 million visitors come to Fort Worth each year for business and pleasure. The tourism industry employs more than 12,000 people.

Fort Worth Fast Facts

Rankings

• 17th-largest city in the nation
• Fifth-fastest growing city in U.S. of 100,000 or more
• Ninth-safest city in the United States
• One of the top tourist destinations in Texas
• Named No. 2 value-friendly destinationin the U.S. by Hotwire.com
• Named one of “America's Most Livable Communities”

History

• Founded in 1849, Fort Worth is the seat of Tarrant County, situated in North Central Texas and part of the Dallas/Fort Worth Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Demographics

• Fort Worth population: 702,850
• Tarrant County population: 1,628,200
• Fort Worth Dallas CMSA Population: 6,014,750

Thank You RCMA Sponsors

Arkansas Department of Parks & Tourism

Bagmasters Factory Direct Inc.

Cancun Convention Bureau

Conference Resource

Dayton/Montgomery County Convention & Visitors Bureau

Fort Worth Convention & Visitors Bureau

Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau

Norfolk Convention & Visitors Bureau

Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau

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Plano Convention & Visitors Bureau

RegOnline

Richmond Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau

Springfield, MO, Convention & Visitors Bureau

Tampa Bay & Company

The State of Texas

Valley Forge Convention & Visitors Bureau